Saturday, September 17, 2011

When Modi began his high profile fasting with millions of rupees spent on tents, reception for other leaders, security wings and media, my only question is ‘why now, why was it not done in 2002 immediate after Gujarat riots?’. Yes, I can guess the answers! Here it is.

If you want to succeed in politics, you must know how to kill or control your conscience. Modi is trying to kill his guilty conscience by fasting for three days in order make him a popular choice of BJP prime minister candidate. He needs to outsmart scores of BJP chatterbox politicians who are all busy in making noises in and around Delhi. He also need to make sure that there is ‘harmony and unity’ in BJP to achieve his personal ambition including dethroning of Advani Ji.

Politicians always knows how to generalize their personal ambition to their party ambition or people’s ambition by coining with sweet words that are exciting to masses and inviting to media. While people are averse to futuristic decisions, but media is in fact looking for some strong spices and Modi would make sure that they get it. Meanwhile, BJP requiring find suitable figurehead against Rahul and it is an open secret now. Series of mistakes from Congress, especially during Anna Hazarze fasting made sure that Dr. Manmohan Singh must be retired and replaced with Rahul Ghandhi. While Rahul let the Congress and media in guessing, Modi wants to throw his towel on BJP ring. The game is on now.

Politics is a business for a particular class of people and they are all united to make sure it remains with them (only) irrespective of ideology, principles and parties. Politics is an enigma wrapped with riddles.

Modi, perhaps the best among BJP leaders with great grass root support from Gujarat. Modi had systematically removed all his BJP nemesis from Gujarat and also thumped his chief opposition Congress almost in all elections. He is now an uncrowned King of Gujarat. No other BJP Chief Ministers are having the charisma of Modi. They are all less competent and crippled with state group politics. At least for next five years, there is no one from BJP ruling states capable to challenge Modi for the prime minister candidate. Advantage to Modi.

Modi is credited with Gujarat’s growth during his rule and let me just put few points that can clear the myth of Mod’s attribution to growth.

So, it is not just Modi, but the preceding governments also contributed well to the Gujarat growth story. In general, it must be credited to the people of Gujarat for their enterprising capability in improving the overall growth performance of Gujarat.

How about other states during the same period of Modi as Chief Minister?

Haryana is achieving an average growth rate of 18%

Andra Pradesh achieved 16% growth at the same period.

Maharashtra is doing almost 15% growths at the same period.

So, the point of difference is the propaganda of Modi which is much better than other Chief Ministers. Modi is no doubt is a better PR man than their own party bigwigs and of course Congress leaders.

Present set of BJP national leaders barring Advani are not competent enough to become Prime Minister of India. Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely, Rajnath Singh, Gopinath Munde, Nitin Gadkari, Murli Manohar Joshi, Venkaiya Naidu, Anand Kumar, Ravi Shankar Prasad, etc are all good enough to fill cabinet berths only. Hence, the aspiration of Modi is well calculated and certainly he is going to lead BJP in future parliament elections unless Gujarat is lost to Congress in future. Modi knows that it is coming, but his challenge is to keep the flocks together till he achieves the lifetime ambition to become the Prime Minister of India.

Well… he has the quality to become the national leader of BJP, but does it enough? Will the blood stains of Gujarat carnage is that simple and irrelevant to remove? Do we need one more prime minster whose credential is built on hatreds against one particular community? Can we progress as a nation with a prime minister who dodges the judicial courts and law? Can we feel secure under a prime minister who kills people in the pretext of terrorism? Can we march to regional superpower status under a prime minister who kills innocents in encounters? Can we hand over entire administration under a prime minister who intimidates his just and sincere officers to suspension and long leave?

Let us look at his great administrative credentials during his helm as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

a) His famous utterance of Newton’s third law of motion: To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction during Gujarat Pogrom. He also told the police machinery not to hinder Hindu mobs targeting Muslims . Refer Gujarat Citizens’ committee (S.P. Shukla I.A.S. Ex Indian Finance Secretary, K.S. Subramaniam, former DGP, Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Associate Professor at JNU, Achin Vanaik visiting Professor in JMI) report published during April 2002 in media.

b) SP Sanjeev Bhatt revelations and affidavit filed in Supreme Court asking to depose his statements on the meeting held at Modi’s home on January 27, 2002 to allow Hindus to vent their feelings for three days immediate after Godhra train carnage.

c) Justice M.H. Quadri, the Muslim judge in Gujarat high court during the riot forced to leave his official residence along with his 80 years old ailing mother to a safer place and his colleagues felt helpless on those days.

d) He transferred 27 IPS officers – all Hindus in first week of April 2002 in one shuffle because their crime was ‘acting against establishment by arresting BJP, VHP and Bajrangdal leaders and suspending subordinates charging with rioting’.

e) Ex Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee have written a letter to Modi dated June 1, 2002, mentioning his dissatisfaction in delaying the probe and issuing compensation to relatives of dead. He even questioned the DNA test conducted on relatives to receive the compensation. There are many more things mentioned in the letter and is unpublished by Modi. However the contents of the letter was received through RTI application.

f) More than 10 cases related Gujarat riot is still pending in courts.

g) Modi’s own and once trusted minister Haren Pandya murder case is still unresolved and no idea who shot and murdered him. He was removed from ministry in July 2002 and subsequently denied ticket to contest in election. It is learned from various reports that Haren Pandya gave a statement to Citizen’s committee about the meetings held at Modi’s residence immediate after Godhra train carnage

h) His own SP D.G. Vanzara and Dinesh Kumar are still in jail for eliminating Shorabuddin and his wife Kauser in an encounter.

His declare of fasting for peace, unity and harmony is something to do with his inner conscience only. He is struggling to find inner peace and harmony and unity of purpose. His heart is trenched with bloods of innocents and precarious as day progresses. He requires inner peace to make him ready for national position and is why he is trying to follow Ghandhian principles of fasting. He would receive flowers and emissaries from other corrupt leaders from all over India.

The old will die and new will forget, said Ben Curien, the first prime minister of Israel is the perfect formula for Modi to clean up his own conscience. But he must know that ‘the end does not justify the means’.